Anthropometrics, Human Factors & Ergonomics

Technological Design

What are Human Factors, Ergonomics & Anthropometrics?

Anthropometrics
Anthropometrics; Anthropometrics is the data which concerns the dimensions of human beings. Designers need to makes sure that the products they design are the right size for the user and therefore comfortable to use. Designers have access to books of drawings like these which state measurements of human beings of all sizes. Examples at work

Knowing about percentiles is an important part of becoming a responsible designer.

Human Factors
Human Factors;
Human factors involves the study of all aspects of the way humans relate to the world around them, with the aim of improving operational performance, safety, through life costs and/or adoption through improvement in the experience of the end user.
The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science).

Examples at work

Did you know that the U.S. military is responsible for the majority of data on Human Factors! It was a result out of WWII aircraft design and engineering.

Ergonomics
Ergonomics;
Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with designing according to the human needs, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. The field is also called human engineering, and human factors engineering. Ergonomic research is primarily performed by ergonomists, who study human capabilities in relationship to their work demands. Information derived from ergonomists contributes to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people

Examples at work..

A poorly designed work station can produce long term medical conditions.

Why should designers be aware of anthropometrics, human factors and ergonomics?

Allows designers to accommodate various percentiles of the population so the majority of people can use and interact with the product or service being designed.

Designers must be aware of human factors, anthropometrics and ergonomics to ensure their product or service is safe and socially responsible. (designing public places is especially sensitive to these conditions)

The Impact of Human Factors, Ergonomics & Anthropometry on Design

A designer can use Human Factors, Ergonomics & Anthropometry to their advantage or these things may work against their design. Good design observes these qualities first because no one wants to use or own a product or service which carries out the task poorly or dangerously.

Consider the following.

A Toilet designed by a fashion designer Fashion designers work to a fantasy of what the human body looks like. They are taught how to draw human figures in a distorted, idealized way.

The impact designers can have on society;

The two figures in the middle are typical of fashion design drawings. Designs are based on these oddly proportioned, fantasy, body shapes. The figures on either side were statistical averages from a series of anthropometrics studies done with US military personnel. Whilst limited to a select age range and profession, these nonetheless are based on measurable and observable reality. These are real body shapes. ( From Human Dimension & Interior Space by Julius Panero and Martin Zelnilk)

As illustrated in the two middle sketches of the human form.

The Result
If a product designer were to work off the same fantasy body shapes that fashion designers do, a typical toilet would look like this. None of us would willingly climb a stepladder every time we need to use our toilet - how silly would that be? And yet, why is it that we continue to try and fit into clothes that were not designed for our bodies to begin with, or shoes that are uncomfortable and damage our feet? This is most peculiar.

The result is a tall, narrow and most uncomfortable toilet.

Where can we find information on body sizes, shapes, standard furniture sizes, etc.? Human Factor Texts Resource Manuals Internet Making your own anthropometric data
Henry Dreyfuss, one of Americas first Industrial Designers was instrumental in using human dimensions to Improve the products people interact with on a daily basis.

Henry Dreyfuss; One of Americas First Industrial Designers

Dreyfuss was born in Brooklyn, New York. As one of the celebrity industrial designers of the 1930s and 1940s, Dreyfuss dramatically improved the look, feel, and usability of dozens of consumer products. As opposed to Raymond Loewy and other contemporaries, Dreyfuss was not a stylist: he applied common sense and a scientific approach to design problems. His work both popularized the field for public consumption, and made significant contributions to the underlying fields of ergonomics, anthropometrics, and human factors.

Some of Dreyfuss Designs...

Did you know that John Deere hired Dreyfuss to Modernize the look of the tractor.

What do we do with all of this data on the human form?

In the first slide we observed that there are individual differences in human characteristics. These follow a normal distribution. This is true with anthropometric measurements. You may have heard the expression "to design for the 5th percentile female to the 95th percentile male." This means that for the selected anthropometric measure, such as height, the lower limit of our range is the height of a 5th percentile female and the upper limit is the height of a 95th percentile male. This range accommodates 90% of the population for that one selected measure.

Population Variance
We again use the concept of "population." This is important in anthropometrics as there are differences in size and body segment proportions due to age, gender, and ethnicity. So, to properly select the data to use, we must know something about our population composition, and we must know what percentage of the population we wish to accommodate. The anthropometric range will be much different if we are designing products for male, professional basketball players than if we are designing for the general public.

Application of the Anthropometric Data

In choosing the proper anthropometric measurements to use, we must know not only the user population, but also the specific application or design problem. If we are designing overhead luggage racks for public transportation, accommodating 90% of the rider population is probably sufficient. However, if we are determining the position of an emergency button, we should design to accommodate 99% of the rider population, including wheelchair users.

A Guide to Designing with Human Factors in mind.

Step 1. Understand Organizational/Mission Need Step 2.Understand and Define Context of Use Step 3.Perform Function Analysis Step 4.Allocate Functions Step 5.Analyze and Design Tasks Step 6.Design Human-to-System Interfaces & Workstations

User/Human-Centered Design Steps

References, Resources & Links

http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/anthropometry.htm www.baddesigns.com (a great website to help illustrate bad design when thinking of human factors) http://www.k-state.edu/udlearnsite/Lesson4.htm http://www.hf.faa.gov/Webtraining/HFModel/Variance/anthropometri cs1.htm (an excellent site with a quiz) http://www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/doodles/cf/convincing.cfm